Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece – the OC, however, is mine.

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The small bar is not unlike every other you have ever seen – all old wood and the smell of liquor that hangs in the air like a fog – but no one is focusing on the decor.

You watch as Monkey D. Luffy – Captain, Pirate King – embraces a pretty older woman warmly with a cry of 'Makino-obasan!' that send her into sobs of delight, and (once they've pulled apart) calling for crates of sake through her noisy sniffles.

He is, in so many ways, the same naive little brat you met years ago on a tiny island in The Grand Line who proceeded to turn your life upside down with one shit-eating grin and cry for 'meat'; the boy who cried himself to sleep in your arms one night in the crow's nest after a dream about Ace; the boy who saved you – all of your nakama – from terrible situations and never once asked anything from you in return but to call yourself his comrades (and truly, who wouldn't want to?).

It makes your heart throb in happiness.

Hours later, and after far too much to drink, you watch from a secluded bench in the corner as he glows with pride and affection, surrounded by nakama and old friends and father-and-mother figures. The visit to Luffy's hometown was a good idea just for the booming laughs it draws from him.

A thump signals company and you study the man who slides onto the stool across from you with interest, attention inevitably focusing on the familiar hat resting on a crown of hair the colour of blood.

Who is Straw-hat Luffy without his Straw-hat? You wonder.

The answer comes as quickly as the thought. Luffy is King.

Nonetheless, you are cautious around the Emperor – despite being the Pirate King's Explosive Expert, this man seems untouchable.

"You're another one of Luffy's nakama, ne?"

You nod, and try not to look openly shocked when he reaches his hand out to shake with a grin to rival your Captain's own. That's where he gets it, then.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shanks."

You shake firmly and offer your own half smile, "M'names Faye."

If possible, his dark eyes seem to twinkle even more. "Ah, the elusive Faye – Luffy's told me a lot about you."

Your face heats with a blush you hope no-one notices.

The silence you settle into is easy as you simply watch the activities in the tavern – Zoro and Ben Beckham are eyeing each other warily from across the room, Usopp is dancing around his father with glee, Nami, Robin and Chopper sit with Shanks' crew, deep in conversation and Brook and Lucky Roux are throwing out music cheerily – and a snigger escapes you both as Luffy gets thrown into a head lock by a large older woman named Dandan who cries openly as she half chokes him to death, half ruffles his hair in pride.

"I knew the kid could do it." Shanks murmurs fondly, and you grin with all your teeth.

Could keep his promise, could be the best, could fulfil his dream.

Red-haired Shanks is, and most likely always will be, your Captain's idol, but the way his dark eyes sparkle with hopeprideLOVE you think it may just be a mutual sentiment.

"Sometimes I think Luffy does the impossible just to prove the rest of the world wrong." You observe wryly, refilling your grog from a large pitcher.

"You love him, huh."

"Of course I do," you reply, aiming for a casual tone and not quite pulling it off with the way you know your face has paled, "it's hard not to love Luffy, ne?"

"Of course," Shanks concedes, his chuckle like the creaking of an old warship. "Not like the rest of us, I mean." His eyes are piercing, and your mouth can't form the denials it should. Eventually, you settle for taking a long gulp from your glass – there's no point to lying to someone who can see so much, anyway.

Because you do love him: love his crew and his adventures and his un-crushable spirit. You loved the gangly, awkward teenager who didn't know his own strength and you love the tall, confident, gorgeous man who brings the Navy to its knees and discovered One Piece and would crush anyone who hurt his precious nakama because he can, now.

If it is hard not to love him on the best of days, when the skies and seas are clear, then when the odds are stacked against you and everything seems to go wrong... it's impossible not to love Luffy; and when he looks at you with those eyes and a smile and a 'whew, that was a close one, ne?' the extent of your feelings come surging like the tide through you and you nearly (always just nearly) forget yourself and throw your arms around him.

"You're right," You admit baldly, watching The Pirate King start to dance a wild jig in time to the music.

"Why not tell him?"

The answer comes swiftly, despite the amount of time it took you to reach it when you first realized the extent of your feelings. "Because Luffy would say it back to keep me from getting hurt, and I would never force that on him. Mr. Shanks," You feel eyes boring into your profile as you study the pirates around you. "I want my Captain to find someone he loves with everything he has, and when he does – because he will – I'll hug her and tell her 'welcome to the crew' and warn her never to hurt him and I'll cry at their wedding and babysit their children and always be happy that he is.

"I'll be there when he needs me to be, and that's all I could ever ask from him."

The Emperor is silent for so long that when he speaks again you almost jump. His eyes twinkle as you meet them. "And if he tells you he loves you out of his own motivation?"

The thought makes you feel so good it's little wonder you often refuse to let yourself hope. "Then I will love him completely and utterly, for as long as I can have him."

He ruffles your hair approvingly before standing with the excuse of needing more rum.

Later that night The Pirate King approaches you with an fiercely serious expression and kisses you soundly on the mouth in the middle of a conversation with a local (resulting in many catcalls). Shanks and his first mate exchange triumphant smiles and Zoro's debt to Nami gets doubled as a result of a long-standing bet.

You try to be dismayed by this, but strong hands dragging you in the direction of the Sunny Go distract you as effectively as the promising gleam in Luffy's eye.

x X x

(Much, much later, you discover that 5 minutes before this event Shanks had asked your Captain if you were involved with anyone 'because Ben has been eyeing her and a good lass like that should be snapped up quick', and you send the Red-haired man a case of the most expensive sake money can buy and a note saying thank you.)

(A week after this, the replying letter insists the pleasure was all his, but he demands to be godfather of your firstborn, much to your mortification.)

x X x

((10 years later, when Monkey D. Ace comes screaming into the world with beautiful dark eyes and your hair, Shanks gets his wish.))

A.N: The name of this fic is taken from the alternative title of Tolkien's The Hobbit.